


Battle for Existence

by petite-neko (petiteneko)



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Grinding, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-20
Updated: 2014-01-20
Packaged: 2019-02-02 08:09:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12722856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/petiteneko/pseuds/petite-neko
Summary: Even though there was a spark, it was overshadowed by what was already there





	Battle for Existence

Groose smiled softly as Zelda and Link embraced. So it was finished, Link had finally rescued her.

The headmaster’s daughter.

His best friend.

A goddess reborn.

Groose turned towards the familiar grounds that had come from the sky. It had destroyed all work he had done – his Groosenator was completely obliterated, gone as if it had never existed in the first place.

Of course, he wasn’t hurting for that reason, but for the metaphor that it created.

For all the similarities between her and [ _him_ and those two buildings.

It took a long time to build it. It helped and existed. But something that was there long before had replaced it, had proved more powerful than it in the end.

Just like him and her.

But Groose shook off the sorrow and turned it into a dopey smile as he rushed towards his friends.

.xxx.

“Hey Groose.” Link said with a smile, landing down on the ground where they had first fallen. “How’s your project coming along?”

The red-haired human let out a big smile. “Almost done! You’ll be surprised once you see it!” He said proudly and pointed to himself with his thumbs. “And of course, it’ll be the best thing you’ll ever see in your entire life! So,” here, Groose leaned in and pointed at Link’s chest accusingly, “no peaking!”

Link laughed and held his hands up, surrendering to Groose’s command. “I won’t! I swear! Why do you think I land behind here now?” He wasn’t offended by the once-rude gesture anymore.

They were friends.

“I want to be surprised.”

Groose was taken back and rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. “Uhh… So Link, wha’cha doin’ down in Faron Woods? Is there something you need to get here for your quest?”

Link’s ever-present smile didn’t fade as he shook his head. “Nah. I thought you’d be lonely down here and that’d you want some company. It’s hard to wander the desert at night anyway.”

Groose punched Link’s arm playfully. “Don’t go worrying about me pipsqueak. I’ve got the old gal to keep me company.”

A smirk appeared on Link’s lips as he crossed his arms to look at Groose in amusement.

The proud red pompadour shook left to right and Groose wrapped his arm over Link’s shoulders. “I need to get some food. Want to join me Link?”

The chosen hero nodded.

.xxx.

“Zelda! Link! You finally did it! The big ugly and that creep are finally dead!”

There was a curious look in Link’s eyes as he looked at his red-haired friend.

It was probably because he was supposed to be by Zelda’s side, but he knew that it wasn’t his face that she wanted to see first so he backed up into the trees and let the two approach each other first.

That was how it was supposed to go anyway right?

“Yes…” It had been forever since Groose had heard such a relieved, unburdened tone to Link’s voice. “It’s finally over.”

Even though those words were spoken in context, Groose couldn’t help but flinch.

.xxx.

“Kwee…” One of the woods’ residents shivered. “You two sh-should go back now.”

Night was coming sooner than either teen had expected – a chill had settled into their clothes, the sky around them was rapidly becoming black, the insects had fallen silent – and they rushed to the entrance of the woods. The wind was picking up and the air felt heavy and damp. It was almost as if…

Drip.

“Groose.” Link grabbed the other’s sleeve. “Over here, there’s a cave.”

“Wha’d’ya mean Link? We’re almost there.” Groose protested and looked at the shorter but stronger male beside him.

“There’s a storm coming, and by the sudden drop in temperature…”

The sky lit up by a flash. A few seconds later a loud rumble echoed throughout the forest.

“What the _hell_ was that!” Groose startled, dropping some of the berries he had picked in his surprise and the skies opened up – letting their water drench the lands.

“Lightning.” Link said. “It’s… hard to explain, but it’s dangerous. It can do a lot of damage to both us and the land.” He tugged on Groose’s shirt again. “Com’on Groose, we need to get to shelter.”

Groose gave a soft sigh and caved in. “Okay Link, where to?”

.xxx.

They were back in their own time, and Fi had been placed in her pedestal, guarding the remnants of that demon-god, but Link had also lost a good friend.

Actually, they all had – not just when Link lost Fi – but when Impa declared her job to be done.

And it made Groose reconsider his plan of action. He couldn’t just…

“My dad,” Zelda said, smiling through her tears, “he’s probably worried sick.”

Link nodded. “Yeah, we should go back up there.”

“You two go.” Groose said. “I’ll stay here, just in case.”

Hopefully they would think his apparent sadness was because of the old gal.

.xxx.

“That’s a storm!” Groose half-exclaimed half-asked through his chattering teeth, silently cursing himself for his slow response to Link’s suggestion.

“Yeah, we only get rain up in Skyloft because the magic that is keeping us up there is also cycling our water. We don’t get storms like this because we’re above the clouds.” Link explained, also through his cold wetness. “W-We should probably get these wet clothes off, the storm looks like it’s going to last awhile and it won’t do either of us any good if we get sick.”

“G-G-Good idea.” Groose was quick to agree. Wet clothes were cold. And cold usually meant sick. Even children knew that!

Not saying that he was as smart as a child or anything…

Link pulled out a cloth from his pack. Thankfully they had not been out there long enough for it to penetrate through the leather.

“I, uh, only have one. We’ll have to share.”

When the sky lit up again, Groose could see numerous scars decorating Link’s body. There were burn marks, stab wounds, sword cuts, claw scratches… And Link didn’t even say a single word to anybody...

Groose bit his lip and nodded. Link was no pipsqueak. He was no baby. He was no boy whose head was stuck up in the clouds. He already once felt bad for being so mean to Link before, and now he felt even worse.

“I don’t think I will be able to get a fire started, so we’ll just have to settle with each other’s body heat.”

As Groose got under the cloth with Link, he wondered where the other got all of this knowledge. Was it from his mysterious sword? From the old gal? From experience? Or was it a bit of each?

.xxx.

Apparently a lot of people wanted to come and see the surface world because when Link and Zelda came back they were not alone. The headmaster was with them, along with Cawlin and Strich.

“Groose!” His two long-time friends called out as they ran towards him with open arms.

Groose laughed and caught them in either arm. “Hey guys. Long time no see.”

“Hey,” Cawlin whispered to him, “so what’d happen? Did Pipsqueak there punish you by keeping you down here?”

Groose felt a bit of anger rising in him, but forced it down because he was the one to start this, so he had to be the one to end it. “His name is Link, and no. I stayed down here to help him.”

“Wha-at!” The two of them said. “ **You** help **him?** Groose, man, are you sick of somethin’?”

“No.” Groose said with a shake of his head and a smile snuck its way onto his face. “I’ve just learned that everybody isn’t what they seem to be.”

.xxx.

He felt hot. His head hurt. His body shivered.

What the hell was wrong with him?

Even though his face felt like it was burning he still craved for more heat. “Guuh…” He groaned, curling towards the warmth that was beside him. One minute it felt like there was liquid ice running through his veins, and the next it was fire.

Whatever was against him had turned around, curling towards him.

Cold, he was so cold but his head felt like it was so hot.

The body against him shuddered and shifted.

Groose twitched as a flaming path shot towards the contact. Warmth. “Nngh…” He groaned out and his body moved towards that heat again and he felt the other body twitch as well.

His body moved again – tilting – and both his and the other person’s groan rang out at the same time. The heat was building.

Heat.

Fire.

Red.

Groose opened his eyes and he met a blue gaze. His mind hurt too much and was too hazy for him to place those eyes but his body arced again.

“Gr-Groose?”

“Link?” The name left his lips before Groose even realized who it was. His body shuddered again in the cold before his mind began to grasp who was curled beside him. So it was Link whose eyes he met. So it was Link’s body that was shuddering against him, causing the warm to run through his body like that…

Wait a minute… Link?

Groose’s body tensed.

Shitshitshitshit!

Why wouldn’t his body move? Why did his arms feel like lead? And why did Link’s breath burn his skin but cause his body to shiver?

“C-Cold…” Link murmured, getting closer to him.

Groose bit his lip as Link’s body brushed against him, as his body brushed against Link. His head hurt, he couldn’t think straight. Something really wasn’t right here and he knew he should stop something, but he didn’t know what to stop or how to stop it. All that he knew was that Link gave him warmth, he gave Link warmth and they needed the heat.

His body tilted again and that warmth grew. Link’s breath continued to burn at his chest, his arms wrapped around his back felt like they were made of flame, so he wrapped his arms around Link, he moved so that his breath was caressing the blond locks because Link needed the heat too.

Their bodies continued to tilt and arc towards each other, they continued to build on that heat, increasing it, tightening it. Groose didn’t care if he would burn, he didn’t care that he would explode. He just needed that fire because he felt like ice.

And Link was his flame.

.xxx.

“Hey, Groose.”

The red-haired male turned around and met Zelda’s gaze.

“You’re… different.”

Groose tilted his head. “Huh? What do you mean Zelda?”

“Well… the last time I saw you, you were picking on Link, hiding his loftwing… and now you stood up for him against Cawlin and Strich. Well, no, last time I saw you in the sky. I remember when I woke up, you were with Link, smiling with him, laughing with him.” Zelda smiled, her eyes closing as her head turned to the side. “I thought I’d say, thank you. I’m happy that you two aren’t fighting anymore.”

Groose blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his head. Was getting along with Link that important to Zelda?

“Also…” She looked down at the ground guiltily. “There’s something I should have told–”

“Hey Groose!” Link’s voice called out and Groose turned his head towards the shorter male. “Come here! Look what I found!”

.xxx.

“Kwee…” A high-pitched noise echoed into the cave.

“Ugh…” Groose groaned out. As he lifted his hand to place it on his raging head, he brushed against some hair. Curious, he looked down to see Link curled up against him, arms wrapped around his back.

Well, this was a bit awkward… Sure they had to stay close to one another while they waited the storm to clear but being _this_ close together, almost naked, was…

By the Goddess! Groose’s face lit up at the realization that his undergarments were barely covering him and were soiled to boot.

How could he get out of this predicament without making it as awkward as hell? Perhaps pass it off as a dream?

He _could_ vaguely remember a dream of that nature.

Heat. Grinding. Need.

There were blue eyes. Blond hair. Hot breath.

…Just like the breath on his chest.

Oh fuck.

He couldn’t exactly say to Link that he had a wet dream because the other was breathing on his chest, now could he?

“Nng…” Link groaned out and opened his _blue_ eyes and shook his _blond_ hair. “Fuck my head hurts.”

Double fuck.

How in hell’s name was he going to explain this?

“It stinks in here, kwee.”

Groose’s face darkened even more.

“Master.”

“Keek!” The kikwi’s footsteps could be heard as it ran off in fright.

“Considering last night, I… understand that this situation can be considered _awkward_ however I calculate a 65% chance that both you and your companion here require medical assistance.”

Groose blinked for a moment, taking in Fi’s words. If she was talking to Link… He looked down at Link, whose face was as dark as his was. “That… wasn’t a dream, was it?”

Link’s blond hair shook as he confirmed Groose’s suspicions.

“Well… I…uhh…” Groose tried but nothing constructive came out. Instead, he tried to demonstrate by actions and removed his arms from being wrapped around Link’s body and Link did the same. Next, he proceeded to get out from under the cloth and walked towards their clothes. They were still wet…

Link groaned and shivered slightly.

Groose bit his lip before he bent down and wrapped Link in the cloth. He couldn’t put Link in those wet clothes, and this cave was too wet for Link to properly recover. Next, he wrapped the sword over his shoulder before picking up Link in his arms. He’d have to go see the old gal, but first it’d be best if they cleaned up a bit.

So Groose took them to a puddle and cleaned up the mess that was left between the two of them before he walked through the rest of the forest, feeling the cold rain on the grass and the chill in the air.

“Nng… Groose…” Link groaned out and looked up at him. “You’re going to get sicker.”

“Yeah, but…” Groose still couldn’t look down at Link. It wasn’t that he was disgusted by what had happened between them, but that he felt guilty. He remembered having some lucidity back then. He remembered panicking. He remembered realizing what was going on, but he couldn’t stop his body. It didn’t matter that his limbs felt too heavy or that he felt like he was ice. He was mentally capable of stopping…

And he didn’t.

“Mng….” Link groaned out. “‘-s not gunna change dings, right?”

Not to mention that he had looked at Link’s body beforehand… that he had developed an appreciation that was not just humble respect…that a little spark had been ignited.

“…I won’t change it if you won’t.”

.xxx.

Groose tried not to lose himself in Link’s smile, he tried to not get pulled in by those gorgeous blue eyes and barely succeeded. Link had Zelda, Zelda had Link. It was a perfect ending to it all. It didn’t matter what had happened in the cave in the forest not ten minutes away, it didn’t matter that Groose had feeling for Link because the hero and goddess reborn had each other. Groose was nothing more than his construction. He was a helper. A friend, a comrade.

“So what did you want me to see?”

The way that Link’s twinkled and the way that his mouth twitched at the side suggested that the young knight was plotting something. “You’re going to have to wait a moment.” Link grabbed Groose by his hand and pulled him along to the giant statue of the goddess that Zelda was the incarnation of.

“You remember that storm?”

Groose nodded and bit his lip.

“Well, I’ve been thinking, and I take back what I said. I _want_ things to change, but… only if that’s okay with you.”

Groose watched as Link’s cheeks darkened, he watched as Link averted his gaze.

Wait, what did he just say?

There’s no way.

No fucking way!

Yet, in spite of his denial, Groose’s face split into a wide grin. “…You want things to change?”

Link nodded shyly. “For the better?” He tried.

“Like this?” Groose asked, cupping Link’s face and leaning down to join their lips together.

“Exactly like that.” The hero said happily. “Oh and… I know I kind of ruined your Groosenator when I killed Demise but…” From his hand a broken-off piece of wood fell into Groose’s. “I managed to find this.”

That was all the proof he needed.


End file.
